Introduction
Looking for flight reservation for visa application? Well, you’ve landed in the right place. So, let’s get started without wasting a single second.
A flight reservation for the visa application is not an actual flight ticket. However, it can be converted into one, if need be. The same document is also dubbed as flight itinerary, air ticket booking, flight confirmation, travel itinerary, and a dummy flight ticket
All these colossal amounts of phrases point out at a single document.
Types of Flight Reservation
A flight reservation or flight itinerary is further classified into two categories:
One-way flight reservation: This document entails details about the applicant’s intended date of entry into the host nation. It does not list the date of exit. We recommend attaching a one-way flight reservation with the application when the applicant is applying for long-stay visas and therefore, is unable to determine the exit date.
Round-trip flight reservation: As the name indicates, this type of document lists the applicant’s intended entrance and exit date. For short-stay visas, we recommend always attaching a round-trip flight reservation with your visa application as it ensures the concerned official that the applicant has no aim to illegally extend his/her stay in the host nation; once his/her visa expires, he will leave the country.
Flight Itinerary for Visa Application
In layman term, “It is a verifiable document issued by an airline, travel agency or an online service provider to confirm that visa applicant has booked/paid for a flight seat on an aircraft.”
Technically speaking, “A Flight Itinerary for visa application is the proposed route of airline information such as flight name, departure/arrival timings along with dates, flight code, departure/arrival airport IATA codes (Ex: FRA is IATA code for Germany’s Frankfurt International Airport, BLR for India’s Kempegowda International Airport and LCY for Britain’s London City Airport) and flight reservation/booking numbers.”
What is a verifiable flight reservation?
An applicant can directly verify details of verifiable flight reservation from the airline’s website. In most of the cases, all applicant has to do is to go to the website and enter his last name along with alphanumeric code printed on the website. If the flight reservation or flight itinerary is verifiable, the website will display the applicant’s details including full name, name of the airline, date of entry and exit, and intended route.
Difference between Dummy Flight Reservation and Actual Flight Ticket
The main difference between a dummy air ticket and an actual flight ticket is that the latter entitles its holder to travel from one destination to the other whereas the former is meant for visa application purposes only; a dummy air ticket does not allow its holder to travel anywhere.
The second major difference between an actual flight ticket and a flight reservation for visa application is that of price. An actual flight ticket comes against a hefty price tag – in some cases it may cost an applicant USD 1000 or even more. On the other hand, a flight reservation for the visa application will only cost you a few bucks.
The latter is a detailed travel document whereas the former is an actual ticket detailing only your arrival and departure dates.
All embassies and consulates recommend against attaching an actual flight ticket when submitting a visa application. This is because if your application is rejected, there is a great chance that you’ll lose a greater chunk of your hard-earned money. Therefore, only buy an actual flight ticket when your visa application gets approved.
How to Acquire Verifiable Flight Itinerary for Visa Application?
There are three main ways out there on the market you can acquire a flight reservation. Let’s explore them individually.
The first is to acquire them from the airline’s website directly. But it has a couple of major flaws. First, the flight reservation for visa application acquired through the airline’s website can only be held for a period of 48 hours or 72 hours at maximum. On the other hand, an embassy or consulate usually takes up to 15 days to process the visa application and if during this period, the officer decides to verify your details on the airline’s website, he simply can’t. This will only have one consequence – the rejection of your visa application.
The second method of acquiring a flight reservation is that of the travel agent. But the process of searching for a travel agent to secure a verifiable itinerary is hectic, specifically in extreme weather conditions. Furthermore, it is expensive too. Besides consuming a large chunk of your paper currency, it requires a lot of physical effort and time.
This leads us to third and the most convenient method i-e to acquire a verifiable flight reservation from a trusted online agent. This is because a trusted online agent will not only provide you a verifiable flight reservation for the visa purpose but can also hold it for a period of 15 days – exactly the same amount of time that a visa officer requires to make a decision on your visa application. Also, you can check it by yourself that whether the flight itinerary served to you is verifiable or not. To do so, simply visit the airline’s website and enter your last name along with an alphanumeric number. If the website displays your details, it simply means that your document is verifiable but if it doesn’t, it means that you have been scammed.
Why do Embassies Demand Flight Itinerary?
While buying a flight reservation for visa application, this question would’ve pocked your mind time and again that why embassies or consulate demand aforesaid documents even before announcing a verdict on the visa application?
Well, embassies or consulates do so for two main reasons.
The foremost reason is that a dummy air ticket or roundtrip flight itinerary assures visa officials that the applicant has no intention to prolong his/her stay in the host nation and that he/she will return to his home country, after summing up the trip.
The second reason is that a dummy ticket or flight itinerary helps visa officials in determining the duration of the applicant’s visa. For instance, if the applicant submits a roundtrip flight itinerary, then the visa officials can calculate the duration of his/her stay in the host destination, thus calculating the duration of the validity of the visa.
